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Visa refused or cancelled? The time limits are short. Act today.
A refusal or cancellation is not always the end of the road, but the right of review is lost in days, not weeks. We advise on Administrative Review Tribunal applications, ministerial intervention requests, section 48 barred applicants, Schedule 3 waivers and character matters, and we tell you candidly when a review is not worth pursuing.
Which situation are you in?
The options and the deadlines depend on where you were when the decision was made, which visa it was and the ground for the decision.
My onshore visa application was refused
Most onshore refusals carry a right to apply to the ART within 28 days of notification, or 7 days if you are in immigration detention. The Tribunal looks at the case afresh and can substitute its own decision. We assess the decision record before you decide.
My visa was cancelled
Cancellation under sections 109, 116 or 501 each follow different rules, and if you are in immigration detention when notified the period to apply for review is 7 days, not 28. Detention may follow a cancellation. Call us the day you receive the notice.
I received a notice or request from the Department
A section 56 request for information, a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation or a natural justice letter is your chance to answer before a decision is made. The response is often the whole case.
Review, intervention and the way forward
Each option has its own test and its own timeframe. Often the best strategy is a new application rather than a review, and we will say so.
Merits review
The ART reconsiders the decision on the law and the facts, including new evidence. It can affirm, vary, set aside or remit the decision.
- Strict statutory deadline: 28 days, or 7 days if you are in immigration detention
- Written submissions, evidence and a hearing before a member
- Applies to most onshore refusals, cancellations, sponsorship and nomination decisions
Request to the Minister
After an unfavourable tribunal decision, the Minister has a personal, non-compellable power to substitute a more favourable decision in unique or exceptional circumstances.
- Section 351 of the Migration Act and related powers
- Guidelines set out the circumstances the Minister will consider
- A last resort, not a second review; most requests are not referred
Barred applicants
After a refusal or cancellation onshore, section 48 limits the visas you can apply for without leaving Australia. Schedule 3 adds criteria for applicants without a substantive visa.
- Partner, protection and a small number of other visas remain open
- Schedule 3 can be waived for compelling reasons
- Sometimes the right move is to depart and apply from offshore
Section 501 and NOICC responses
Refusals and cancellations on character grounds, including mandatory cancellation for certain sentences, decided under Ministerial Direction No. 110.
- Response to a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation
- Revocation requests after mandatory cancellation
- Protection of the community weighed against ties, family and rehabilitation
What we need from you in the first 24 hours
The deadline runs from the date you are taken to have received the decision, which may be earlier than the day you read it. Send these to us immediately.
- The full decision letter or notice, including the decision record and the date you were taken to have been notified, because the 28 days runs from that date
- The visa application, forms and documents that were lodged
- Any correspondence from the Department, including requests you may not have answered
- Your passport, current visa grant and bridging visa details
- Details of family in Australia, employment, study and community ties
- Any criminal history, court documents or police matters, in full
- Previous refusals, cancellations or tribunal decisions
The law we apply
Section 347(3) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth): an application must be made within 7 days if you are in immigration detention on the day you are notified, and otherwise within 28 days. Section 347(5) disapplies section 19 of the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (Cth), so the Tribunal cannot extend either period.
Sections 48, 56, 109, 116, 351 and 501 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth); Schedule 3 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth); Ministerial Direction No. 110 (commenced 21 June 2024) for character decisions.
Part 5 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (Cth) set the jurisdiction and conduct of review. The Tribunal fee is confirmed with you at the time of advice as at 1 September 2026; a fee reduction may apply.
How we handle a refusal or cancellation
Every matter runs under a written agreement that sets out the work and the fee before anything begins.
Same-day triage
We read the decision, calculate the deadline and tell you the options, including whether review is likely to succeed.
Lodge the review
We lodge the ART application in time to preserve your right and your bridging visa.
Build the case
We prepare submissions to the standard of senior counsel: every fact sourced to an annexure, every legal point cited, the contrary points addressed.
Hearing and beyond
We prepare you for the hearing, represent you, and advise on the next step whatever the outcome, including a fresh application where that is the better path.
The mistakes that cost people their case
These are the issues that most often decide this visa. We raise them with you at the first consultation, not after lodgement.
Missing the deadline
The Tribunal has no power to extend the period, because section 347(5) of the Migration Act disapplies the extension provision in the ART Act. A review lodged one day late is invalid, no matter how strong the case.
Re-lodging the same application
Applying again without addressing the refusal reasons produces the same result and may trigger section 48.
Ignoring a Department request
A section 56 request or a NOICC that goes unanswered leads to a decision on the papers, usually the wrong one for you.
Not disclosing history
Criminal matters, previous refusals and false information in earlier applications are found. Disclosure with explanation is always the better course.
Refusal and review questions
How long do I have to apply to the ART?
Can I stay in Australia while the tribunal decides?
What does the tribunal look at?
What is ministerial intervention?
My offshore visa was refused. Can I appeal?
Send us the decision letter today
Message it to us on WhatsApp or email and we will tell you the deadline and your options the same day. Do not wait for the weekend to think it over.
The information on this page is general in nature, current as at 1 September 2026, and does not take account of your individual circumstances. It is not immigration assistance or legal advice. Visa criteria, charges, thresholds and processing priorities change; the requirements that apply to your matter are confirmed at the time of advice under a written agreement. No agent can guarantee a visa outcome. Migration Star, Registered Migration Agents, MARN 1797395.